Midsommar (Might Contain Spoilers!!!!!)

[Tiggnutz]

I think Hereditary is my favorite horror movie from the last 10 years and unfortunately I didn't get to see it while it was in theatres so when Ari Aster's next film Midsommar was announced I knew I had to go. I wanted to temper my expectations because for me movies of the quality of Hereditary just don't come around that often. Midsommar is not Hereditary but it is a very good movie. The central theme of this film is cycles. Cycles of life as well as cycles of relationships. It would be hard to deny the influence of The Wicker Man but I don't think it's stealing from that film. I mean how could any movie about European paganism not seem that way. The cast was good most notably the lead actress Florence Pugh who did an exceptional job. Plenty of gore for the gore hounds and also some disturbing graphic scenes. Pacing was a bit of a knock it felt kinda long to me. I find ancient religion/cult type things incredibly interesting and wouldn't mind picking up a book on scandinavian paganism in particular. I'm going to give Midsommar a B+ it scratched a lot of the itches I wanted scratched and i left the theatre pleased but just like Hereditary I predict lots of people will hate it.

[Havok]

It's good. Just gonna be indecisive like Hereditary was. It had that whole disorienting and confusing tone going for it, Nothing hard to follow if you pay attention to the clues, just enough there to wonder when it'll eventually happen as the film progresses. Nothing original, but I still enjoyed it. Way better than that piece of shit Annabelle Comes Home. This was two hours and twenty minutes of continuous intrigue, while I was bored to death with the 90 minute Annabelle. Good scenes that don't shy away from the violence, some scenes that might be shocking to the average movie goer. I did get a slight European/Italian vibe in some parts stuff like The Church or Mother Of Tears. I also felt it was quite similar to A Cure For Wellness in some aspects as well. Overall, where Hereditary was dark and rather depressing in tone throughout, this one was more uplifting and celebratory in tone alongside the death.

With all that being said, I think Apostle is the better movie that deals with the same shit Midsommar does.

[Slaughterhouserock]

This is a bit ranty, but I'm old, and like to bitch, so take it with a grain of salt or skip this paragraph. I ended up watching the director's cut, which is just shy of three hours. There's plenty that could have been cut, so I don't think anyone is missing out if they go with the theatrical version. Fans of The Wicker Man will probably love this. I thought it was ok, but it's not something I'll ever watch again, as it's not my thing. What you expect to happen, happens, it just has alot of atmosphere/build up, and I don't need that shit these days. I want the horror equivalent of a two-pump chump. Get in, get killed, done. I had to set aside time to watch this, and it just wasn't worth it. Others who have the time to kill will likely call me a philistine for not "understanding" the "art" or some shit, but I just don't care. I get it, I just don't want it. I'll occasionally find an exception, hence why I found time to watch this, but it's exceedingly rare. I probably would've liked it better ten years ago, but it would still be too damn long.

Other thoughts:

Gore-wise, there's only one real scene worth a damn, and it's early on. It was good, though. Lots of drug stuff I could have done without. Any film with drug use generally gets a negative review from me for personal reasons. I don't find it amusing, and I think it's a cheap trick in films akin to a jump scare. Lots of singing/grunting/noise-making which I also could have done without. Maybe it's trimmed down in the theatrical cut, but there's at least fifteen minutes of that shit in there. Lots of foreshadowing if you're into that sort of thing, though I felt it was unnecessary as it was obvious what was going on from the get-go. Also, the sex scene was hilarious. I think it was supposed to be creepy/weird, but I just thought it was funny and laughed my ass off after the mom(?) got close and that other lady "helped" at the end.

[showa58taro]

Best sex scene in a comedy for sure. Played out purely like a comedy. Still enjoyed it myself but everything you say is definitely true/there.